1956 Bentley S1 Continental

• One of only 22 LHD examples ever produced
• Stunning original livery of Shell Grey with Tan Vaumol leather
• Completely original interior in truly excellent order
• Sold new in Paris to the Chief Chemist of Carven Parfum
• Distinctly French flavour with Marchal Headlamps, Sidelights and Wipers
• One of the rarest and most desirable postwar Bentleys
• A beautiful example of HJ Mulliner’s Fastback pièce de résistance

The Bentley S1 Continental represented the pinnacle of British grand tourers in the late 1950s, combining considerable performance and excellent handling with sumptuous luxury and quite possibly the world’s smoothest quietest engine at the time, the remarkable 4.9 Straight Six. Their lightweight aluminium coachwork enabled the Continental series to achieve such remarkable performance figures for a luxury car and today, they truly stand as one of the greatest and most beloved models of all time. The S1 Continental arguably holds the most prestige of any Silver Cloud or S-Series model. A broad variety of bodies were available to customers to clothe their Continental chassis with the most prominent offerings coming from HJ Mulliner and Park Ward. Park Ward produced stunning Coupé and Drophead models, the latter of which being the most desirable post-war Bentley of all. HJ Mulliner meanwhile began by producing an updated version of the universally beloved Fastback design that was the main coachwork of choice for the previous R-Type Continental. Carefully updated for the late 1950s with more cabin space and a more modern look with sharp stage lines, the S1 Fastback quickly proved to be a customer favourite and as with the R-Type Fastback has remained one of the most coveted postwar Bentleys of all.

In total, 119 Design no. 7400 Fastbacks were built, already a low number but of these 119 cars, only 22 LHD cars were produced making it supremely rare to have the opportunity to purchase one and such a fine example at that. The magnificent LHD S1 Continental Fastback we’re privileged to offer to you is truly one of the most coveted and most desirable postwar Bentleys of all time. This car was supplied new via Franco Britannic Autos Paris to the chief chemist of Carven Perfumeries, Georges Baud. Prior to the Second World War, Baud had worked as a mining engineer but found himself a German Prisoner Of War in a concentration camp. He along, with two other French chemists, dreamt of what they would do once they were three and all had their eyes set on the perfumery business. He escaped from the camp in 1942 but was only able to start the business with his partners once the war had ended, his partners including perfumers Maurice Pinot, Jean Prodhori and designer Carmen de Tommaso, better known as Madame Carven Mallet, the head of the Carven haute couture house. Beyond launching an incredibly successful perfumery with the Ma Griffe perfume proving especially popular, Baud also used his new found wealth to purchase some of Europe’s finest grand tourers including a Ferrari 250 GT PF Series II Cabriolet and a 330 GT 2+2 Series I, however we strongly believe his finest automotive purchase came in the form of this absolutely stunning Bentley S1 Continental Fastback.

Ordered new via the famed Franco Britannic Automobiles of Paris, the car was flown from Ferryfield Airport in London to Le Touquet in Northern France before being handed over to Baud’s driver. As it well should considering its Parisian delivery, this S1 has a distinctly French flavour with Marchal Headlamps, Marchal Sidelamps and Marchal Windscreen Wipers as well as air horns, all specified from new. Another interesting feature which we’ve never seen in another car was the specification of a backlight blind allowing for more privacy in the rear, a feature the car proudly retains today. The Bentley’s interior is completely original and in stunning shape, showing how well the car has been cared for throughout its life, very few original interiors that are 68 years old have aged anywhere near as well as this has. The car remains in is original colours of Shell Grey with Tan Vaumol leather and is a truly exceptional looking car, partially owing to having such a great colour combination. It is also incredibly rare with only 22 of the 119 S1 Continental Fastbacks being produced in LHD, making the car even more desirable than an already coveted RHD Fastback.

The car remained in Paris for most of its life up until the late 1990s when it was purchased by successful French singer and songwriter Florent Pagny, an artist who has sold in excess of 6 million singles and 10 million albums. He briefly kept the car before selling it in 2000 to a Swiss collector who retained the car for 23 years, at which point we purchased the car. We are truly thrilled to present such a phenomenal example of the extremely rare and hugely desirable LHD S1 Continental Fastback. Being that only 22 were constructed and most are in private collections, these seldom ever come to market with one example recently selling for over £1million, making this a very rare and fantastic opportunity to buy one of the rarest and most desirable postwar Bentleys of all.